Calk



Aug. 27, v1946. vH, SAMSQN 2,406,476

CALK

Filed Feb. 19. r1945 i y IFI E'. 4-

' lNvNToR HAROLD A. `SAMPoN ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 27, 1946 CALK Harold A. Sampson, Burlingame, Calif. Application February 19, 1945, Serial No. 578,580

2 Claims. 1 My invention relates to calks for .the soles of shoes and especially of sport shoes.

The broad object of the invention is the provision of a calk which will not mar or injure in Y any way a finished iloor surface or floor covering. More limited objects include the provision of a calk of the character described of relatively simple construction and easy .to apply.

My invention possesses other objects and features of value, some of which with the foregoing will be set forth in the following description of the invention. It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the showing made by the said description and the drawing as I may adopt variant forms of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing: Figure l is an elevation, partly in ver-tical section, of a calk embodying my invention. Figure 2 is a plan View of my calk. Figure 3 is a plan view of a flat metal blank before it is folded to form the main bodi of the calk. All of .these views are on a scale at least five times the preferred actual size. Figure 4 is a plan view of a variant form of my calk. Figure 5 is a bottom ,view of a shoe sole partly in diagram, and on which a number of my calks have been mounted. Because of the smallness of the parts, the calks are shown only in outline.

In various types of outdoors sport shoes, such for example as those worn when playing golf, it is desir-able to have calks on the soles because of the added sureness and security they give. An almost immediate complication Iarises however because a calked shoe cannot usually be worn very far away from the turf or ground, since the calks wouldA irreparably deface the floor surface and floor coverings of home or club room. Frequently a change from calked to soft soles is inconvenient and sometimes impossible; and it is to meet this need for a calk which will not injure the indoor 'surface walked on, that I have devised my present invention.

In terms of broad inclusion, my calk comprises a soft and yielding cleat or block of rubber or comparable material, reenforced with fabric, and held rigidly in a metal frame, which is provided with means for attaching the frame to the sole. The manner of construction extends the rubber and fabric well beyond the metal frame so that the soft and yielding block is the only portion of the calk which can touch the floor. While my calk may be worn inside club house or home without the least danger of injury to floor or rugs, it nonetheless provides an efficient calk for outdoor sports use. On any smooth surface the combination of rubber and fabric gives a nonskid contact.

The body or frame of my calk is stamped from thin gauge metal, preferably of non-rusting character. The cruciform shape of the blank is illustrated in Figure 3; and the blank comprises four equal arms, each arm comprising a bottom wall or plate 2, having a lshort flange 3 on each side. The sides are adapted to be folded up at 90 to the' bottom plates to from With the plates four short trough-like seats in which the block 4, Figure 1,. is held in radial arrangement about the center. The bottom plates 2 extend radially out from the .central portion 6 of the blank with which they are yof course integral, and in order toY provide additional strength and resistance to ilexure at this junction, a small sector 1 is left in ea-ch corner as shown in Figure 3. A hole 8 is also punched at the center which later provides a socket for the riveted inner end 9 of the screw I2. i

In Figures 1 and 2, the block 4 is a small molded cross with cords heavily impregnated with and embedded in the mass of rubber or other suitable material such as one of the many synthetic gums. A long piece having the crossshaped cross section is molded with the cords therein running lengthwise; and is then cut crosswise into short lengths to form the blocks, the ends 0f the cords being in the wearing surface of the block. This improves the non-skid quality of the calk onsmooth wet surfaces, as

well as enhances the reenforcement of the rubber.

After the blank has been rformed and shaped with its upstanding flanges, and the screw rigidly attached, the block is laid in its seat and the free edges of the flanges bent inwardly a small amount to compress the block and hold it securely. The calks may then be attached to the shoe sole I4, by screwing them into the usual threaded metal sockets set in the shoe sole when the shoe is manufactured.

In Figure 5, I have shown a calk in which the Ablock 15 is cylindrical, being formed in the same way as the lcross-shape block, but from a cylindrical body. In this case the seat for the block comprises a shallow cylindrical receptacle, the bottom I6 of which is secured to the screw in the same manner as already described. The rim of the side walls I1 is spun over or otherwise turned inwardly to lock the block I5 in place, or indentations I8 pressed into the rim at three or four points.

I claim:

1. A shoe calk comprising a plate of generally cross shape andr having the side margins of the cross arms turned upwardly to provide pairs of opposed flanges on the arms, and a non-skid block fixed between the opposed flanges.

2. A shoe calk comprising a cross-shaped plate,

flanges on the edges 'of the cross arms, non-skid blocks between the flanges, the free edges of the flanges being turned inwardly to clamp the blocks therebetween, and means for attaching the plate to ia shoe sole.

HAROLD A. SAMPSON. 

